Letter: Teaching beliefs instead of science puts students behind the eight ball
Al Hartmann | The Salt Lake Tribune
Eleventh graders make glass slides and count Paramecium through microscopes, part of a national science competition in biology class Wednesday October 26 at Salt Lake Center for Science Education.
New test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress show Utah students leading the nation in science.
It concerns me when board of education members fail to accept middle school standards based the nationally recognized Next Generation Science Standards, preferring to teach “beliefs” instead.
Their argument is that we are teaching theories not facts. The “facts” as we know them are based on years and years of research and validation. As science improves, facts may change based on new knowledge and understandings. But to reject current consensus on science puts us at an extreme disadvantage in developing our children to compete in a world becoming ever increasingly technical.
Many of the jobs of the future, and the robustness of Utah’s economy, will be based on Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM), which is a main initiative among Utah high schools. So why put our middle schoolers behind the eight ball?
Michael Feldman, PhD, Murray
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